Neither welterweight could be happier to inflict violence on the other in the Octagon when they open the UFC 226 preliminary card on Saturday on Fox Sports 1 at T-Mobile Arena.

Seeing it as a battle of Southern California vs. Northern California, Millender (15-3) started planting the seeds on social media and smiles at the thought of Griffin following through as hoped.

“For me though, it’s just this is what I do,” said Millender, 30, who trains with Erik Paulson and Ben Jones at CSW Gym in Fullerton. “I pick fun, I want to get in your head. He’s emotional. He says he doesn’t like me now, so it worked.”

Fighting out of Marinoble’s Martial Arts in Sacramento, Griffin (14-4) didn’t see the humor in it but isn’t one to back away from a fight.

Griffin, 32, is coming off a must-win performance – a unanimous-decision upset of Mike Perry in February – knowing his 1-2 record in the UFC couldn’t get worse without him likely being cut.

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Jones credits Griffin for his pressure and counter-striking.

“He’s very well-rounded. And I’m assuming he’s gonna come out and pressure us,” Jones said. “We have some stuff, some set-ups and traps for that kind of stuff.

“I see him getting pretty frustrated with the range both inside and outside. I think once he slows his feet down and once Max starts thinking a little bit too much, it’s gonna be over.”

None of it fazes Millender, who was asked why he is so confident against a battle-tested Griffin.

“The holes,” the Fullerton resident said of Griffin’s game. “My coaches made a bunch of the little gifs, the things he’s doing and how open he is and how much time I have to react. There’s plenty of time.”

Millender, who was raised in San Bernardino, caught the UFC’s eye with a stunning head-kick knockout of Nick Barnes at LFA 30 in January in Costa Mesa.

Five weeks later, he was taking on former title challenger Thiago Alves at UFC Fight Night 126 in Austin. He finally put away the veteran with a well-placed knee to earn the TKO and a $50,000 Performance of the Night bonus.
UFC welterweight Max Griffin during UFC 226 Ultimate Media Day at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, NV., Thursday, July 5, 2018. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Much of the credit, Millender says, goes to Jones’ coaching at CSW.

“Ben has kinda put everything together,” Millender said. “I’ve always been talented, I’ve always been quick, I’ve always had knockout power, I just needed the right coach to get in there mentally and put it all together, and he did that.”

When asked how long Millender has been at CSW, Jones’ response was simple: “Since he started winning.”

That statement isn’t opinion or boastful, but factual. Millender is 7-0 in the nearly three years since he started working out at CSW.

“I think he had some discrepancies in his game when he came out to us,” Jones said. “I just think maybe he didn’t really focus on some stuff before, and now that he’s been with us at CSW, myself and Erik Paulson, he’s grasped everything we’re doing and his game has really been evolving.”

Millender said growing up in the toughest part of San Bernardino and being part of the first 9-12 graduating class at Arroyo Valley High helped with his resolve.

“I grew up on the west side. My high school was surrounded by all the major gangs,” said Millender, who didn’t dare join a gang out of fear of Curtis Sr., his 6-foot-7, 250-pound father. “It was rough.”

Jones agrees with what makes Millender such a special fighter.

“To be honest with you, I think it’s his mind. His outlook when he approaches a fight,” Jones said. “I fought for 15 years, I had those nerves before every single fight. I call it the rollercoaster of emotions. He doesn’t get it.

“For him, it’s natural when he gets in there. It’s fun for us. He was born for this, man.”

WEIGH-INS DRAMA

Ninth-ranked lightweight Michael Chiesa was the only fighter on the UFC 226 card to not make weight Friday morning.

Looking like he’d had a difficult weight cut, Chiesa stepped on the scale 1.5 pounds over the 156-pound limit. Chiesa gave the thumbs-down sign when his weight was announced, then gave the throat slash and said it was his last fight at lightweight.

His main-card fight with former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis will continue after Chiesa agreed to be fined 30 percent of his purse. The 12th-ranked Pettis will receive some of the forfeited money, but it wasn’t specified how much.